June 2007 Archives

The Regional Transportation Authority is asking the CTA and Pace to consider giving active-duty military personnel a break on fares. Metra already allows soldiers in uniform to ride trains for half the regular fare.

The timing of the RTA's request isn't great, considering both the CTA and Pace are threatening drastic fare hikes and service cuts if they don't get additional funding from Springfield.

But both agencies said the discount program is something they'll consider once the current budget impasse is resolved. If it gets resolved, the way Governor Blagojevich and the legislature are going.

The CTA has reached a five-year agreement with its unions governing wages, health-care and pension reforms, putting the heat on the Illinois General Assembly to act to avert threatened fare hikes and service cuts.

They say misery loves company, and few things make people more miserable than not being able to get where they need to go. Or having to take public transportation under less than desirable circumstances.

So how about sharing your all-time worst travel experiences in Chicago?

It could be the flight from hell, or the CTA ride that just couldn't end fast enough.

Back in April, I asked if you thought the City of Chicago should consider congestion pricing to cut down on traffic in the city, similar to a proposal in New York. Well, now Ald. Ed Burke is backing the idea.

Today, Burke floated the idea of charging motorists a fee to drive into the city; the money would go to the CTA.

Think it'll work? London did it four years ago, resulting in a 20 percent decrease in traffic from 2003.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed an $8 congestion fee for driving into Manhattan. What would you be willing to pay to go to the Loop?

More than 100 people showed up this morning for the last of four public meetings on the CTA's contingency plan to balance its budget.

The CTA board was supposed to vote on the proposed service cuts and fare increases right afterward. But the vote was postponed because CTA President Ron Huberman and board Chair Carole Brown were called to meet with the governor and state legislative leaders in Springfield.

No word yet on what's going to come out of that meeting, but the hope is that it will be good news for the CTA.

Governor Blagojevich has said that he won't approve a budget that doesn't include at least $100 million for the CTA, which has a $97.5 million deficit for 2007. But he also said that he won't support a sales tax increase in the collar counties, which is the funding mechanism the Regional Transportation Authority is pushing.

CTA riders, meanwhile, expressed outrage at the proposed service cuts and fare increases the CTA has said it will resort to in September without additional state funding. Yet, many also acknowledged that the public hearing was an exercise in futility, since the real answer to the problem is "in Springfield...not in this room," as one rider put it.

In case you missed our extremely short story in the paper today, Pace is moving ahead with plans to build a new headquarters, right next to its current home in Arlington Heights.

The timing may seem off, given the possibility that Pace might have to consider fare hikes or service cuts to balance its budget. But Pace officials say the move is necessary, because Pace's current building is well past its prime and would cost more money than it's worth to fix.

For months now, the RTA, CTA, Metra and Pace have been talking about how they've ditched their inter-agency squabbling to present a united front to Springfield in an attempt to score more state funding.

That's all very kumbaya, but every now and then, you get the sense that coordination between these agencies still isn't what it should be.

Tonight will be the first of four public hearings on the CTA's proposed Doomsday plan, which involves cutting 63 bus routes, the Yellow Line and the Purple Line Express if the CTA does not receive additional state funding to balance its budget.

Shannon Fortune isn't just one of the men and women who fill the CTA's subway tunnels with music every day. He's also a rising star who just advanced to the second round of an international music competition called the Emergenza Acoustic Hero Tour.

The winner gets to go to Germany to play at the Taubertal Open Air Festival in August.

Two weeks ago, Shannon won Chicago's acoustic guitar competition and will now head to New York, where he'll compete in the American finals. After that, he could be on his way to Deutschland and international acclaim.

Not too shabby for a low-key guy who sometimes plays the subways in a frayed Bears cap and doesn't expect to get discovered by the music industry R. Kelly-style anytime soon.

Technically, it's illegal to bike on the city's sidewalks. But many bicycle riders ignore this rule--no surprise, given the measly $25 fine and slack enforcement by police.

Enter North Side alderman Mary Ann Smith (48th), who just renewed a controversial ordinance that hits bikers who ride on the sidewalks along Sheridan Road with a hefty $250 fine. Bikes may also be temporarily disabled with the equivalent of a wheel-locking Denver boot. Read more about it in my column.

So, what do you think?

Is the ordinance unfair to bikers, or is it necessary to protect elderly pedestrians who live along Sheridan Road.

Transportation links

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